


Strangers are Friends You Just Haven't Met Yet

by bobbyscats



Series: Just Drive in Straight Line [2]
Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: BUT dont worry he got bobby by his side, Bobby - Freeform, Double B, Fluff, Hanbin - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of Death, Van Life, be careful with strangers though, bobby lives in a van, bobhwan bestfriends, bubbly hanbin, cause he's carrying heavy problem, hanbin is only happy the outside, he meets hanbin on one of his stop over, he travels around south korea, innocent bobby, jealous jinhwan but also understanding, jinhwan - Freeform, kinda soulmate type of au, slightly angst, spoiler alert! double b are orphans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26696092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobbyscats/pseuds/bobbyscats
Summary: Bobby invites a passenger for the first time. (and perhaps last time too)
Relationships: Kim Hanbin | B.I/Kim Jiwon | Bobby
Series: Just Drive in Straight Line [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889896
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	Strangers are Friends You Just Haven't Met Yet

**Author's Note:**

> the italicized words are either throwbacks or Bobby's thoughts.
> 
> enjoy!

He lets out a loud audible mewl as he stretched his limbs when he woke up from the sound of his phone ringing. Scratching his head, he reached for his phone that is placed on top of his mini desk beside his fold-up murphy bed.

It’s Jinhwan.

Uhh, it’s only 7am?

Bobby was surprised, he then wondered why his best friend decided to call him so suddenly.

If they’re still in the past, these phone calls wouldn’t be surprising, because the two of them used to take every chance they can get to talk through phone calls, video calls, or just random texts since they rarely see each other in person. Jinhwan is all the way from Jeju, and of course he can’t always visit Bobby who was trapped in Seoul.

But now that Bobby started his van life, their phone calls rarely happen now.

It’s not that their friendship changed, of course.

From his first and latest visit at Jinhwan’s, which was two months ago, Jinhwan told him, _I don’t want to bother your alone time, so just enjoy your freedom, and start to get used to me not calling you every hour of the day._

Bobby only rolled his eyes at him when he heard those. It was obvious that Jinhwan has another reason and he was only shy to tell Bobby. But Bobby didn’t fail to know because Jinhwan’s mother accidentally told Bobby something that could be a potential reason.

According to her, Jinhwan is planning to focus on his music, so he will soon get busy trying to get scouted by agencies or producers. His first thought was, _ahh is that why he said he will lessen our phone calls now?_

Of course beside that, Bobby also felt so proud for his best friend. Bobby knew that Jinhwan always wanted to be a singer. He always believed in Jinhwan’s voice, he personally enjoyed listening to Jinhwan sing randomly during their phone call sessions. Although, it saddens him that Jinhwan was too shy to tell him about his current plans, he just tried to understand him, maybe he’ll tell him soon, and then Bobby will just pretend that it’s his first time hearing about it.

Bobby became extra happily contented that day because he realized that both of them will start to do what they really love.

Bobby is now able to travel, and Jinhwan is now starting to hike up towards his dream.

Come to think of it, maybe Jinhwan called today because he will finally tell Bobby about it. Bobby suddenly felt giddy.

“Mm..” Bobby only hums through the phone, his voice still sounds hoarse but Bobby knew that that won’t bother Jinhwan.

“Which part of Korea are you in right now?”

“Gyeonggi-do. Why?”

“Oh? You still haven’t left that place?”

Three weeks ago, he sent Jinhwan a text that he just arrived at Gyeonggi-do, so Jinhwan knows that he had stayed there for three weeks now.

“Yeah, why?”

Bobby suddenly wonders why Jinhwan was asking a lot about him and not blabbering about himself. Maybe Jinhwan will still not tell him about his scouting, so Bobby pouts.

“Uh, Bob, _I_ should ask you that. Why are you still there? Did you find something there that made you stay longer than usual?”

Bobby then bits his lip. Throughout his two months of traveling around the country, Jinhwan knew that Bobby only stays two to three days in one place, then he’ll move to another just within that week.

But in Gyeonggi-do, he somehow couldn’t leave the place just yet.

“Jinhwan, I made a friend in here.” Bobby answers, biting his lip to hold a smile from forming.

“Oh…” Jinhwan trails off. “Should I start feeling jealous now?” Jinhwan says, Bobby can imagine a playful pout on his best friend’s face.

Bobby snorts. “Nahh, you know no one can replace your throne Jinan.”

“Okayy, whatever you say. Tell me more about your friend then. Is she pretty?” Jinhwan asks, making Bobby chuckle to the fact that Jinhwan straight away assumed that the friend is a girl.

“He’s a _he_ though. But well, he does look kind of pretty, I won’t deny that.” Bobby laughs, and Jinhwan only remained silent for Bobby to continue.

“His name is Hanbin.”

And then, Bobby proceeds to tell Jinhwan about how he met Hanbin.

—

One night, about three weeks ago, Bobby arrived in Gyeonggi-do. He sent Jinhwan a text about it, and to his surprise, Jinhwan rang for a video call, saying that he missed talking to Bobby.

“ _Why do you have two murphy beds? Do you plan on letting me live there too?_ ” His best friend asked as he noticed from the camera that there are two beds.

Before Bobby could even answer him, the older gasps, “ _Or maybe someone else?!_ ”

Bobby snorted at his best friend.

“ _These two murphy beds are already built in, duh. And no, I have no plans so far, of letting you, or even someone else live here. This is one man journey, Jinan._ ” Bobby answered, leaning his back before he flopped his legs on top of the empty murphy bed across him.

“ _But what if I tell you that I want to run away too? Would you fetch me here and take me far away with you?_ ”

“ _As if you’d tell me that_.” He rolled his eyes. “ _You love your sister too much, I’m pretty sure you can’t even spend four days away from her._ ”

“ _I do love my noona so much but I can obviously live without seeing her of course! Technology exists, Bobby._ ” He rolled his eyes.

“ _But, what if… it’s not me who tells you that?_ ” Jinhwan challenged.

Bobby pouted his lips. Well, he could actually consider having a passenger. He does want Jinhwan to travel with him because it would be indeed more fun to have someone he can have fun with, but Jinhwan has his own home that he cannot leave. And a dream to achieve.

“ _Pfft- that’s very unlikely, Jinan. But.. I guess if there is someone who needs a ride or maybe a place to stay at, I’d be willing to help. Remember how I told you that I’d face anything I’ll encounter.”_ Bobby explained, making Jinhwan slowly nod at hearing his answer.

“ _But of course, that person needs to pay for the gas!”_ Bobby joked, and they continued to chat through video call that night.

The next morning, Bobby woke up late. He got ready in a rush because he unfortunately over parked his van. He was supposed to leave the pay parking space at 10am but he woke up at noon. He sighed disappointedly to himself when he saw that there’s a penalty paper slipped in between his wipers. He then drove away from the parking spot, sulking after paying for his penalty digitally.

Bobby was glad though, that he was able to put all his earnings from selling his paintings into an online bank account so it makes purchasing/paying easier for him. He saved quite a lot, he won’t deny. He was blessed to have more than enough talent and passion in art to justify the high rate of his works. Not to mention the constant allowance he receives from his adoptive father even if Bobby was only homeschooled, so it wasn’t a surprise that Bobby was able to save enough numbers for his daily living.

He still paints up to this day, and majority of his clients are overseas, which is a good thing, because that meant he’s getting better. His humble ass won’t admit it, but his works even became more majestic ever since he started the van life. Various sceneries were right before his eyes so the inspiration never stopped coming to him.

He then notes to himself not to spend money frivolously because that would make his savings run out too early. If he wants to save his money, then the first thing he needs to practice is to wake up on the right time so he wouldn’t end up over staying in pay parking spaces and end up paying for an unnecessary penalty that could’ve been avoided if he was just careful.

A sigh left his mouth, still regretting and blaming himself for waking up late as the wheels of his van continued to roll on the road. He hasn’t actually planned a specific destination for today, so he’s just mindlessly driving along the highways of Gyeonggi-do.

Until he realizes that he haven’t eaten anything yet when he felt his stomach rumble. Turning on his built-in GPS, he searched for a nearby restaurant or maybe just a simple food chain or café.

A result appeared and it is a noodle place.

Perfect. He is kind of craving for some Dak Kalguksu.

When he arrived at the said noodle place, Bobby became wary because the noodle place looks empty and dull. The unoccupied wooden bench stool and the clinking sound of the signage’s chain swaying back and forth due to the wind somehow made Bobby feel bleak. _HaengboghanGuksu_. Bobby read the Hangul figures that were written without space. He scoffed because he’s feeling the complete opposite from what it says. _HappyNoodles_? The exterior of the place looks… sad, that Bobby’s mind almost decided that he would just look for another place but the sound of his rumbling stomach is stronger, so he just decided to stay.

He then almost hesitate again to enter because he struggled to open the door that seemed stuck. Is this business still running though?

Just when he was about to give up, the door swung open which made Bobby stumble that he almost fall face flat on the floor. Thank God his reflexes were fast enough to tighten his own grip on the door so he didn’t fall. He clenched his eyes for embarrassing himself.

Bobby straightens himself up, and as he look around the noodle place, his eyes met a bright pair of twinkling eyes and a _smile_. A welcoming smile that somehow managed to brush away the gloomy feeling that Bobby felt before he entered the place.

Bobby smiled back at the boy who was sweeping.

“ _Welcome_!” The boy greeted, then he stopped sweeping the floor to immediately run to the counter to put his apron on. The way this boy hurried to fix himself to be at his service made Bobby feel extra welcomed.

Bobby noticed that he’s the only customer, which is somehow a bit concerning, because it was supposed to be lunch time. He hoped that the lacking of customer is only because of the gloomy impression of the place from the outside and not because this noodle place has some issue in their food.

“ _What can I get for you?_ ” The boy asked, Bobby gave his order, then the boy went on to make his order without delay.

After a good 20 minutes, the boy came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray in his hands with… two smoking bowls of noodles? Bobby tilted his head because he was sure he only ordered one.

The boy placed the tray on his table, carefully serving one bowl to him. Bobby then politely said 'thank you' to him.

Then the boy’s next move surprised Bobby a lot. Like, a _lot_.

The boy suddenly sat himself across Bobby, as if he’s planning to eat with Bobby in this same table.

_Are people normally friendly like this?_ Bobby didn’t have much chances to go outside to eat in public places like this during his childhood and teen years so he doesn’t know how to react on this. Should he run? Bobby still haven’t touched his food yet so it’s probably okay for him to run without paying… _right_?

But Bobby didn’t move though because he thought, maybe this boy just wanted to be friends?

" _I’m just kidding_.” The boy broke his character then he chuckled afterwards. Bobby, being a clueless person he was, he only smiled, either because of relief that this boy isn’t a weirdo who suddenly sits on a stranger’s table or because of how adorably funny this boy is.

Bobby’s gaze never left the boy as he watched him stand up, bringing the tray with him where his noodle is placed, he then transferred it to the other table across Bobby’s.

“ _Ah, I hope you don’t mind. I haven’t had my lunch yet_.” The boy spoke again.

Bobby’s eyes widened and he replied instantly “ _No it’s okay, I don’t mind at all_.” He just realized that his eyes haven’t left the boy yet so Bobby kind of felt bad for making the boy feel the need to explain himself.

The boy smiled at him again, “ _Hope you enjoy your meal_.” He wished to Bobby before the boy started to blow on his noodles gently.

“ _Thanks, you too_.” Bobby smiled at his interaction with the boy, then he started to eat his food too.

During the first few seconds of his meal, he somehow finds himself glancing towards the boy who’s just happily eating his noodles across him.

Bobby didn’t expect himself to speak.

“ _Hey, I don’t mind if we eat together in one table though_.”

_Too late_. He already said it. _Why did I say that?!_ Now Bobby thinks that he’s actually the one who’s weird. Well, Bobby barely goes outside for 21 years, maybe that can be his excuse. But of course the boy doesn’t know that about him, so he will probably think that his customer’s a creep.

At that moment, Bobby regretted what he said big time.

But the boy stopped eating and said, “ _Really? I actually have that in mind, but then I saw how surprised you were when I sat there, so I quickly changed my mind and said I was just kidding._ ” The boy chuckled as he stood up from his table. He moved back to Bobby’s table and then they’re facing each other again.

Ah, so he doesn’t think that Bobby’s a creep. _Okay, so far so good_. But Bobby still doesn’t know what to say. _Ah_ , he’s too awkward for this.

“ _Sooo, how did you find my noodle place? People around here already know that I’ll be closing soon so it’s a shock for me that one customer dined in today_.” The boy initiated a conversation.

Bobby looked up from his food to face the boy who was leaning one of his elbow on the table. Bobby noticed how young he looked. For a moment, Bobby felt insecured that this boy, who’s probably the same age as him, already runs a food business and is working hard at such a young age, meanwhile, Bobby is a jobless youth citizen who does nothing else but paint and spend his earnings and lifetime savings traveling.

What a carefree motherfucker he is.

In Bobby’s defense, he did work diligently under Mr. Wang’s household, and this carefree life of his at the moment is what Bobby earned for taking care of Mr. Wang, who is, adequately rich as _heck_ to buy his adopted son a converted van.

“ _Oh uhh, I searched for a nearest dining place and your place appeared on the GPS.”_

“ _Ah- you must be a tourist then_..” The boy assumed. Bobby could only nod.

“ _That explains that big ass RV outside_.” The boy mentioned, making Bobby turn his head to where his van was parked as if he doesn’t know that it was parked there.

“ _Ah that.. ahaha, yea. I’m on a trip._ ” Bobby answered and the boy only nodded, eyes trailing to his own food. Bobby wanted to face palm himself. The boy already knew that he’s a tourist, he even said it himself, and then Bobby, again, stated the obvious, saying that he’s on a fucking trip?

Bobby can feel to himself that he sucks at interacting, and it’s embarrassing. If Jinhwan can see this, he’ll probably laugh at his best friend’s _awkward_ ass. Bobby then gulped because he now feel like it’s his turn to initiate a question this time, but he couldn’t think of any.

Ah, the boy mentioned about him closing the place _, maybe I should ask that?_

“ _May I ask why did you welcome me when you said you’re supposed to close soon?_ ”

The boy lets out a chuckle.

_“I still have ingredients left, so I thought why not?_ ” He answered Bobby.

The boy’s eyes trailed to the cooler behind Bobby. Bobby followed his gaze and he saw that there were alcoholic beverages stored in it. “ _Huh, and I still have lots of alcohol left…_ ” Bobby heard him mutter.

“ _Hmm, do you think now is the perfect time for me to celebrate my closing party?_ ” The boy wondered, leaving Bobby confused.

Bobby watched as the boy stood up. “ _Wanna drink?_ ” The boy straightforwardly offered.

At that moment, Bobby thought that this boy is being too welcoming, way too friendly.

“ _Don’t worry. It’s on me_.”

Why would this boy celebrate his closing party with Bobby who is a _complete stranger_? Bobby doesn’t know if it’s a good thing or not.

“ _Wait, do you drink though? Are_ you _even in legal age already? Ah wait- who am I kidding, you literally own an enormous van so you’re obviously old enough to own a driver’s license_.” He talked so fast that Bobby wasn’t even able to say things in between.

“ _So, do you wanna…?”_ The boy asked again.

Bobby found himself nodding, then he watched as the boy march his way towards the cooler. _Face anything I’ll encounter._ It’s his first time drinking that day and he wondered if the taste would be the same as his expectation. If it would be the same taste that he imagined back then upon reading the drama actors’ facial expressions during their drinking scenes.

The boy came back in his seat, serving Bobby a canned beer.

“ _How old are you?_ ” The boy asked. Looks like he really is trying to make Bobby his friend.

“ _21_.”

“ _Same_.” He smiled.

_“I’m Hanbin by the way_.” The boy, Hanbin, stated his name, stretching out his hand to shake with Bobby’s.

“ _Bobby_.” He told him, accepting the hand shake.

And then Hanbin laughs, “ _English name, huh?_ ”

“ _It’s just a nickname_.” Bobby laughs. It’s just a nickname, yes, but his real name was never actually used by the people around him anyway, so growing up, ‘Bobby’ has became his name. Even his teacher calls him that. Well, it’s not like he knows a lot of people though. The closest he have are Mr. Wang, Jinhwan, Jinhwan’s family and his online teacher.

“ _Ahh, I shouldn’t have said my real name then. Now, between the two of us, only you have something against me, I mean, what if you decided to rob me and I don’t even know what name should I report to the police..”_ Hanbin joked, he was the first one to gulp his drink, Bobby only laughed, not touching his drink yet.

“ _I’ll forget your real name then. Tell me your alias.”_

Hanbin gasped.

“ _Don’t think I will ignore how you didn’t even deny my assumption of you robbing my shop.. I’m sorry mister, but you have nothing to rob here_.” Hanbin said, gesturing his arms to the surroundings.

Bobby cackled loudly this time. “ _I won’t rob you, Hanbin._ ” Bobby felt weird saying a name that isn’t Jinhwan’s or Seiyon’s

Hanbin playfully scoffed. “ _Who knows what’s inside that big mysterious van you have there.”_ Hanbin said, seeing the dark tinted windows of it.

Bobby only snorted before twirling the noodles around his chopsticks.

“ _See? You haven’t even touched the drink I offered to you. It seems like you want to keep yourself sober so you could rob me as I’m drunk_.” Hanbin talked again, gulping his drink.

Bobby was not sure if this boy is drunk already so he blabbers like that, or he’s just naturally talkative, sober or not.

“ _Hanbin_.”

Bobby somehow liked the way Hanbin’s name sounds as he says it out loud.

“ _I’m a good person. I won’t rob you, I only came here to eat my lunch, God_.” Bobby said in an exasperated tone, playfully rolling his eyes.

“ _If anything, I’d be the one who should be wary, who knows what’s in this drink_.” Bobby added, raising one of his brows, clinking the can using one of his finger.

“ _It’s not even opened yet. I cannot possibly put something in there without opening it. So, that’s safe_.” Hanbin stated, raising his hands in the air.

“ _And_ -“ Hanbin paused as he cackled for a while. “ _How dare you accuse_ me _of poisoning that untouched can of beer when you’re already eating the soup I literally cooked. You’re_ unbelievable _._ ”

“ _Just say that you want to stay sober so you can take advantage of my shop when I’m wasted_ -“

“ _Watch me_.” Bobby cut him off, popping the can open.

Then Bobby chugged down the drink in one go.

Which was a mistake.

His whole face turned red right away, he didn’t like the way it burned his throat. Bobby made an unexplainable face which caused Hanbin to laugh and feel worried at the same time. Hanbin stood up from his seat as Bobby started to heave then Hanbin proceeded to rub circles on Bobby’s back.

“ _Let me..”_ Inhale _,_ exhale _. “…do that again_.” Bobby breathed when he recovered from his first gulp, twisting his body to face Hanbin who was laughing at him.

“ _You sure, man_?”

“ _Yeah_.” Bobby didn’t know why he was so determined that time, maybe he’s just feeling a little bit more adventurous.

—

“You two got drunk that afternoon and you woke up to see that the whole noodle place was trashed?” Bobby hears Jinhwan laugh on the other side of the line.

“Yes. Arghh! I remember images of Hanbin and I flipping the tables, stomping our feet on the canned beers, throwing the wooden chairs around, God, I even swear to _God_ that I witnessed Hanbin karate chop one of the tables and cried afterwards because it hurt his wrist. And we were freaking laughing hysterically, Jinhwan! I remember helping him because he was wailing how he wanted to ruin the whole place before he closes the diner for good.” The pitch of Bobby’s voice is strangely higher than normal as he tells the story, that Jinhwan can tell how Bobby is now fond of this so-called Hanbin just from the sound of Bobby’s enthusiastic voice. Bobby peeps through his tinted window and saw the concrete wall of the noodle place outside. Bobby hopes that Hanbin is fine with him sharing their drunken story to Jinhwan. Bobby then wonders if Hanbin is awake now, probably not because it’s only 7:10 in the morning.

“So that’s how you’d act when you’re drunk, huh… Trash the whole place out? I will never let you drink in my parents’ house..” Jinhwan laughs.

“It was all his idea, not mine!”

“You still followed him though.”

“In my defense, I was wasted as hell.”

“What happened when you woke up then?” Jinhwan adds.

—

“ _KIM HANBIN_!” An old lady’s voice from the outside woke Bobby up. She was continuously banging the entrance door using her palm, and it was ringing in Bobby’s ears which made his head twinge in pain from the loud sound. He searched for his phone in his back pocket. _Thank God_ it was there. He mentally cursed when he noticed that it’s 9am in the morning already, meaning, he practically spent the night on the cold floor.

Bobby groaned when the woman didn’t stop banging the door. Bobby used all his strength to scan his eyes around the room to look for Hanbin. And he almost passed out again when he noticed his surroundings.

Just a few meters away from him, there were upside down chairs, some of them had one or two of their legs broken, some of the plastic tables were split in half, bowls are shattered on every corner of the shop, crushed cans of beers are sprawled all over the place.

What in the _hell_ happened last night?

On the bright side though, at least Bobby didn’t woke up naked on the same bed with Hanbin because _that_ would be _much_ worse than this. But, _God_ , The whole place looked like it got demolished. Bobby could already think of the possibilities. Will Hanbin charge him of destruction of property? What will Bobby’s adoptive father say when he sees his adopted son in jail and he had to pay a fine to release him? Would his father actually pay for him though? Or just let Bobby take his punishment in jail, he’s not his real son anyway-

“ _KIM HANBIN_!!” The lady called out again. From the tone of the woman’s voice, it sounded like Hanbin was in trouble. Bobby then scrambled on his feet as he tried to look for Hanbin around the place. _Shit_ , where is that dude? What if he ran away from this mess while Bobby was still passed out so once he woke up, Bobby will be the one who will get in trouble?

Bobby almost wanted to cry and call his father for help. What mess did he just got himself into? If he knew beforehand that this is how things will end up when he’s drunk then he wouldn’t chug that beer down in the first place.

Bobby stopped when he caught a glimpse of an outsole of a shoe, peeping at the side of the counter.

_Hanbin, that rascal._

Bobby rubbed his temple with the use of his two fingers with an attempt to ease the pounding pain in his head as he approached the counter. He released a sigh when he found Hanbin under the counter, sleeping there in a fetal position, yes, like a freakin’ _fetus_. He have his arms crossed and wrapped in his stomach while his knees were bent.

_What in the hell…_

“ _Hanbin_ …” Bobby poked him, trying to ignore the weird position that Hanbin was in. At that moment, Bobby wanted to consult Jinhwan. How does one talk to a stranger he just got drunk with the next morning when they’re sober? Specifically when they woke up to see that the whole place was ruined, probably because of their drunk asses.

Hanbin didn’t budge.

Is _he_ _alive_ though?

“ _KIM HANBIN!!!_ ” It was the lady again, so this time, Bobby didn’t just poke Hanbin, instead he used both of his hands to grope Hanbin’s upper arm and shook the boy’s body to wake him up.

“ _Who… are you?_ ” It was the first question that Hanbin asked the moment he fluttered his eyes open.

_“We.. we drank together yesterday and.. and_.. “

Hanbin flinched when he heard the banging of the door, he stood himself up too quickly that he got his head bump against the roof of the counter, making Bobby scrunch his face in pain as if he felt it too.

“ _Ow-_ _woa, that pain really brought me back to reality.”_ Hanbin muttered, rubbing his head. Hanbin groaned as he heard the lady’s voice, then he turned to Bobby as he crawled out of the counter. “ _Arh- your name is Bobby, right?”_

Bobby nodded.

“ _I’m Hanbin—ah wait, you already know.. Ahaha.. Wait here… Uhm, aish, sorry I’m such a bad host to a guest. But I.. I need to deal with ajumeoni first_.” Hanbin quickly told Bobby, before walking towards the lady who was waiting outside.

Bobby was left standing on that spot, he wants to laugh at how messy Hanbin was, but also dumbfounded as he watch Hanbin walk pass through the broken things casually. He wasn’t even surprised to see the surrounding, like it was normal for him, while for Bobby, he was feeling the opposite. He was.. _scared_? _Weirded out? Confused_? Or maybe Hanbin was feeling the same too, and he was just good at hiding it.

Bobby’s eyes traveled to his van that was parked outside. He realized that he needs to brush his teeth, wash his face, and even pee. But Bobby didn’t want to pass by them or make Hanbin feel that he’s eavesdropping. Hanbin and the lady were standing by the door and it looked like they were in a serious conversation. It was mostly the lady who’s talking while Hanbin’s eyes were mostly on the ground, nodding to whatever the lady was saying.

But Bobby’s urge to _go_ is so strong, _holy shit_. He crossed his legs in attempt to hold his pee as he looked around the noodle place to look for the bathroom. He couldn’t find it.

Maybe it’s in the kitchen? But Bobby feels uncomfortable to enter there because it felt like trespassing. He couldn’t hold it anymore so he tiptoed towards the exit, and when he was closer to the door he saw that Hanbin was tearing up..

He felt his urge to pee being pushed back when he saw how Hanbing started sobbing, begging the lady.

“ _Give me a few days, ajumeoni, just until I can find a new place to stay.”_

Bobby pressed his back against the wall where Hanbin and the lady wouldn’t see him. _Shit_ , he told himself that he didn’t want to eavesdrop but here he was.

“ _20 days are all I could give, Hanbin. For you to clean that mess and to find yourself a place to sleep.”_

“ _That’s more than enough, ajumeoni. Thank you_.”

Bobby held his breath when Hanbin came face to face with him when he got inside. Bobby noticed the dried tears on his eyes that Hanbin tried to conceal by smiling without teeth.

He didn’t hear much from the lady and Hanbin’s conversation, but he can tell than Hanbin is going through something.

From the fact that he will be closing the shop soon, to his behavior last night as he was drunk. Bobby somehow wanted to comfort him or do something, _anything_ , that can help ease Hanbin’s situation, but Bobby felt like he’s not in the position to do so. Bobby was just someone he met yesterday. A stranger whom he invited to drink. Just someone who witnessed how he vented out all his negative emotions by wilding all over his place last night. How can Hanbin be comfortable enough to let Bobby help?

“ _You owe me_.”

“ _What_?”

“ _You haven’t paid for the soup yet, and you broke my chairs, my bowls and tables_.” Hanbin accused, gesturing to the surrounding like all of those was Bobby’s fault.

“ _Wha- we got drunk! And it’s not like_ I _was the only one who broke those! I.. I’m sorry, okay? And, here..”_ Bobby paused to take out his wallet.

“ _Here.. here’s my payment for the meal…_ ” There was a hesitation in his voice. “ _and for the broken furniture. Sorry.”_

Bobby immediately regretted handing Hanbin those. Those are his gas fund for almost two weeks! _God damnit,_ what was he thinking? Does Bobby think he’s rich as hell just to give off his money like that!? It wasn’t even entirely his fault! Jinhwan will say that Bobby got scammed.

It would be too embarrassing to take the money back now. _Oh well, goodbye gas fund_. At least Bobby will walk away leaving a cool impression. What he did was a good deed anyway.

“ _No! You don’t have to pay me with money_.”

Those words made Bobby turn around so quickly like those words gave him hope. Too quick, that Hanbin will notice how Bobby wanted to take the money back.

But Bobby wanted to remain cool.

“ _Why? You said I owe you.. So there’s my payment_.”

“ _Not with money.. silly_.”

Bobby paused and almost smiled in rejoice because that meant he will get his two weeks of gas money back.

“ _Then what?”_ Keep that cool and straight face, Bobby.

“ _Uhmm, help me clean this place_?”

_Of course_. It would be really disrespectful if Bobby would just leave the place right away without even helping to clean the mess he _partly_ made, so he agreed.

And Hanbin handed back his gas money, which made Bobby secretly pump his fist in the air in rejoice when Hanbin wasn’t looking.

Before they started tidying the place, they both cleaned themselves first. Bobby went to his van, while Hanbin went to the kitchen of the noodle place, which is where his home was. He has a bed space on one corner that is only covered by a thick curtain so Hanbin still have his privacy from his part-timers. It was where Hanbin had stayed in his entire life actually. His parents already run this business even before Hanbin was born. As the only child, he grew up watching his parents manage everything. He inherited his mother’s talent in cooking, so learning the dishes wasn’t a challenge for Hanbin. He’s also quite diligent and observant as a child so he had adapted the way how his parents ran the family business.

Bobby had entered the noodle place again, all ready to help with the cleaning.

He was about to ask Hanbin what he needs to do but Hanbin offered Bobby a coffee first, jokingly saying that he wanted to prove that he’s not a bad host.

During that brief coffee time, they shared a good conversation about painting. Since it was Bobby’s liking, he noticed how the noodle place was decorated with acrylic paintings. He then teased Hanbin that the paintings must be really dear to him because not a single one of the paintings were included to the things they chose to damage last night.

Hanbin said Bobby was right, saying that they’re important because they were bought and collected by Hanbin’s father.

Despite being surrounded by a mess, Bobby thought that morning was nice. They had a pleasant breakfast and they talked about anything that could be considered as a step closer to getting to know each other. Bobby was getting comfortable around a new person now which was a good sign because that meant he’s doing well at making friends.

“ _I’m really sorry for the bad behavior last night.”_ Hanbin apologized to Bobby as he handed him some cleaning materials.

Bobby laughed, “ _No, I don’t mind, really.. I mean, this is better than boring myself to death inside my van sooo this is quite an adventure for me. And I_ like _adventures.”_

“This _is an adventure to you? A fun thing to do? Wow.”_ Hanbin scoffed while he opened a bottle of liquid soap, pouring it on a big bucket before stirring it with a mop to make it bubble.

“ _Meanwhile for me, this is my every day life_.”

Bobby tilted his head, “ _Getting drunk at night, and cleaning your mess the following morning?_ ” He joked.

“ _No_.” Hanbin rolled his eyes, _“I meant the_ cleaning _, dummy. I regularly disinfect this place every morning. I bet you were living a Disney Prince’s life before, that’s why this is an exciting thing for you.”_

_Prince’s_ life.. _Ha_ , If one would compare Bobby’s life to one of the Disney cinematic universes, it could be _Tangled_. Just like Rapunzel who was trapped in a tower, Bobby lived like he was an inmate in Mr. Wang’s house because he was never allowed to go outside.

His freedom today still overwhelms him to be honest.

“ _I lived the Disney life actually. Rapunzel's, to be specific. I mean, have you seen the movie Tangled? All Rapunzel did was clean the tower, so I’m a_ pro _in cleaning_.”

Bobby then put on his cleaning gloves, grabbed one wet cloth, then he proceeded to dump it in the soap mixture with a ridiculously great force, resulting for the bubbles to splash right into their faces.

“ _Oops_.” Bobby slowly turned his body to glance at Hanbin, and he couldn’t help but cackle out loud when he saw that the other boy had it worse and he looked like he’s a Walmart version of Santa Claus.

Hanbin had his eyes shut because there were soap close to eyes. He extended his arms to feel his surrounding. “ _Give me a clean cloth_!” Hanbin struggled to speak because the bubbles would get inside his mouth.

“ _Ya, Bobby where are you_!”

“ _I’m here, I’m here._.” Bobby said in between his laugh. Hanbin took the risk and opened one of his eyes slightly to see that Bobby was right in front of him.

“ _Ohmygod, I am sorry_.” Bobby said as he quickly lifted his own shirt up, Hanbin almost choked on the soap as he saw that. Then Bobby proceeded to use his own shirt to wipe Hanbin’s face. It was the closest clean cloth he could use– well, he can actually use Hanbin’s shirt too but Bobby felt weird lifting another person’s, so he just sacrificed his own.

“ _Hey, don’t open your eyes_.” Bobby ordered, and Hanbin scoffed. “ _Pfft, it’s not like I’d look at your stomach_.” He muttered.

Bobby bit his lip to restrain a laugh. _My stomach?_

“ _Dude, I meant don’t open your eyes ‘cause the soap might get inside ‘em. Do you wanna burn your eyes?”_

” _Hurry up then!_ ” Hanbin exclaimed because Bobby was strangely taking so long to just wipe his face.

Come to think of it, Hanbin could've actually just wiped his own face, he didn't know why he let Bobby do it for him. _Oh well, what's done is done._

When Hanbin recovered from almost burning his eyes with the soap bubbles, Bobby apologized again, “ _I’m sorry._ ” While laughing in between.

Hanbin then playfully scoffed at him then he turned his back to start sweeping the broken ceramics. Bobby then started to do his own thing, still fighting the urge to laugh whenever he glances at his own shirt that now has a wet stain from wiping Hanbin’s face.

The tidying took longer than expected. It was lunch time already but there’s still a lot to clean. Hanbin scanned his eyes around the place to see Bobby, the wet stain on his shirt earlier was probably dried now and was replaced with his own sweat, his bangs were almost poking his eyes as he scrubbed the floor with a wet, soaped cloth. It was the spot where they purposely bathe themselves of alcohol. Hanbin cringed at that memory, but the image of it also made Hanbin want to laugh.

“ _Hey, let’s take a break first_.” Hanbin then declared a rest time, offering to make a lunch for the two of them.

Bobby couldn’t say no even though he’s shy that he’ll receive another free food from Hanbin again. He got a free breakfast already, and Bobby pretty much just ate the best cheesy egg sandwich he had tasted his entire life. Bobby thinks it was _sooo_ freaking good. And Hanbin made a great coffee as well.

Well, it’s not that Bobby grew up having a lot of people cook for him to the point that he can compare which cooking was the best. In fact, Bobby was the only one who cooked for himself and Mr. Wang all throughout his teen years. Sometimes he gets to taste Mrs. Kim– Jinhwan’s Mom’s cooking whenever Jinhwan gets to visit him in Seoul but those chances rarely happened back then so it is unusual for Bobby to have another person cook for him– for free, since Bobby already, and only, ate outside for the past two months– but those were different because he paid for them.

He will admit that Hanbin is a great cook, and a good companion too, so Bobby will probably consider going back to this place.

Wait.

Hanbin said he will close the place soon and Bobby also heard earlier that Hanbin had to leave this place.

But he can’t just ask him about that _directly_ , because Hanbin will suspect Bobby for eavesdropping.

“ _Hanbin, what was your reason for trashing this whole place out? Do you have like.. a grudge over this place or something?_ ” Bobby went with a safe question.

Hanbin paused, only staring at his bibimbap.

Bobby then felt worried, maybe he shouldn’t have asked that. He gulped from his glass of water.

“ _They said it’s better to open up to a stranger because there would be no judgement, right?_ ”

Bobby sent Hanbin a reassuring smile, “ _I’m good at keeping secrets, Hanbin. Shoot.”_

—

“Ah, I will stop now. I’m not in the position to tell you about it, Jinhwan. I promised him.” Bobby says as he stands up from his bed, placing his phone in between his ear and shoulder so he can still hear Jinhwan while he folds his bed.

“Of course, Bobby. I understand.. Now. Enough about your new friend.”

“Hmm?” Bobby asks when Jinhwan pauses.

“I actually called to invite you. It was why I asked where you are in the first place, but then our topic got diverted to _something_ else.” Jinhwan laughs.

“Ah really?! Sorry sorry!” Bobby laughs, apologizing for blabbering about Hanbin.

“Over there in Jeju? When?” Bobby asks away when Jinhwan didn’t respond to his apology.

“Nope, I’m.. actually in Seoul right now.”

“Really?” Bobby suddenly became excited because this must be finally about Jinhwan’s dream.

“Yes… because I am finally casted Bob! Surprise!! And the first gig they gave to me is a busking with a band here in Hongdae. I want you to watch me tomorrow. If you leave Gyeonggi-do now, you’ll arrive earlier and we’ll have more time to hang out. You can even watch us practice!”

“Wha- That sounds great, Jinhwan, I’m so proud of you! You’re actually- woow, you’re actually doing it!”

“I know! And I’m nervous.. sooo nervous! That’s why I need you there. Come see me? _Please~_ ” Jinhwan says. Bobby is just about to agree, but he pauses when he saw Hanbin coming out of the noodle place, with two mugs of coffee on his hands.

Shit. He almost forgot about _Hanbin_.

“Jinhwan…? I’m.. I’m afraid that I can’t leave this place _yet_.”

Then there’s silence on the other end of the line. Bobby feels his heart twist for turning Jinhwan down. It’s his best friend’s very first gig, but Bobby couldn’t make it. What a bad friend he is.

“Why..” Jinhwan trails off, his voice sounded sad and it made Bobby feel worse.

“I… I promised Hanbin that I won’t leave yet.”

“What? I– okay, I wasn’t expecting _that_ …”

Bobby looks down, “I’m sorry, Jinhwan. It’s that.. I’m currently helping Hanbin with something, I can only leave in peace when I’m assured that Hanbin is fine and settled– but that’s all I can say to you because I swore to him that I won’t tell anyone… remember what I told you earlier…”

Bobby then hears a tap on his window, and he sees Hanbin pressing his forehead in it, squinting his eyes for him to be able to see Bobby through the tinted window. Hanbin is smiling adorably as he lifts up the two mugs in his hands for Bobby to see. Bobby quickly hides his sadness as he flashes a smile to Hanbin, then he signals him to wait, pointing to his phone on his ear to non-verbally tell Hanbin that he’s currently on a phone call. Hanbin nods understandingly and turns his heel around to enter the shop again.

Bobby sighs.

“I don’t know what you and _that_ Hanbin shared together for the past days, that you chose him now over _my_ first gig but it better be reasonable, Bobby. Or else I would actually be mad at you.”

“Wait, Jinhwan… you’re not mad?” Bobby grips his phone tightly.

“For now, I’m not… Of course I’m a bit hurt, yes. I’m sulking because my _damn_ best friend won’t be able to come to support me, but I do understand why, because I know you Bob. You’re a kind person so Hanbin probably has a _reasonable_ reason for him to keep you there.”

“Jinhwan..”

“Shut up. Be a good friend to him then, okay? You’re being a bad friend to me right now but I’ll let it slide because I sensed how fond you are already of him from the way you described him to me earlier so…”

“I love you, Jinani.” Bobby pouts.

“Not that nickname!”

“Jinaniii.” Bobby sings, a smile is slowly forming on his face.

“Get off of the phone now, or else I will cut you when we meet.”

“Okay, okay. Do well on your buski- Ah, who am I kidding, I _know_ you will do well. You are Kim Jinhwan after all!”

“Okay, see you when I see you, Bap. And tell _the_ Hanbin I’d like to meet him soon.”

And their call ended. He checks the time and he realizes that he spent almost an hour calling Jinhwan. He peeks outside and hoped that Hanbin wouldn't mind waiting a bit more, cause Bobby feels like showering first before exiting his van.

Bobby steps inside his small bathroom. He checks his water container to see that there’s just enough amount for him to brush his teeth and take a short shower.

As he runs his fingers through his hair and the scent of his own shampoo surrounds him, he thinks about that one night, three weeks ago, that shower he had that night after cleaning the noodle place with Hanbin all day. 

It was the moment when something inside of him shifted.

That as soon as he exited that shower. He started his engine again and drove back to _HaengboghanGuksu_ in a hurry.

Bobby again sees the image of Hanbin opening the door for him.

“ _Bobby? I thought you’re off to Busan tonight_?”

Bobby shook his head.

“ _Tomorrow, I’ll give you a ride around Gyeonggi-do, okay? So you will find a new place faster_.”

For a moment, Hanbin only stared back at him, mouth half open, perhaps processing what Bobby just said. Hanbin wasn’t expecting such offer from Bobby. Hanbin thought their bond will be cut that night because earlier that afternoon, Bobby had mentioned his plan of going to Busan for the continuation of his trip.

“ _You don’t have to! How about your trip_?”

“ _I want to. And don’t worry, my time is flexible, Hanbin. I can leave once I’m sure that you’re okay_.”

“ _Why are you suspiciously kind?_ ” Hanbin furrowed his eyebrows, making Bobby laugh.

“ _Let’s just say that I’m an angel in disguise and God sent me to watch over you._ ”

It made Hanbin laugh, “ _Okay. So, that means, you're staying then?”_

“ _Yeah_.”

“ _Okay, you can freely park your van there, by the way_.”

“ _Yea, thank you_.”

“ _No, thank you.”_

And Bobby didn’t know what to reply. They were both just smiling at each other, happy with the friendship they just started. Bobby was just mindlessly swinging his arms awkwardly, preparing to turn his heel to leave the doorstep, but Hanbin spoke again.

“ _Okay, you can rest in your van for now, but come back again in 30 minutes– for dinner. I'll make food for two. Orrr you can stay here and watch over me cook? You said God sent you to watch over me_.” Hanbin said the last phrase jokingly, which made the both of them laugh.

Bobby didn't hesitate to decline. He’s too shy to take another free meal again. “ _Ahh no, I'm good. I have instant food in my van, I can consume those_ -“

“ _Nah, you're my guest. Just bring your ass back here later then, okay? Now shoo~ I need to steam the rice now.”_

30 minutes haven’t even passed yet when Bobby was startled from a tapping sound on his window. It was Hanbin fetching him.

Oh _God_.

_“I unexpectedly finished cooking early. Hehe_.”

“ _Oh_.”

“ _Come come! Dinner's ready_.” Hanbin smiled, pulling Bobby out.

They are now seated on the counter because the rest of the tables were now broken, _thanks to Hanbin's karate chopping skills_ , which Bobby didn't miss the opportunity to point out just to tease Hanbin. He received a swat on his upper arm from Hanbin because of that remark.

“ _I think you only offered me a ride just so you can take advantage of the free parking space_.” Hanbin accused, pointing his chopsticks towards Bobby.

Bobby snorted, “ _You’re right, pay parking spaces are expensive as hell.”_

That night, Bobby slept with a smile on his face, not only because he didn’t have to pay for a parking space for the night, not only that he got free meal for that entire day, but also because he made a friend and knew that he will still see Hanbin the following days.

He then remembered what his father always warned him about before. That strangers are dangerous. Stranger danger. The typical idea that parents always tell their children. According to Bobby’s adoptive father, there’s always 50% chance of dying when you’re with one. From that belief of his, you can already tell that he’s overly protective of Bobby. That was the reason why Bobby rarely had the chance to step his foot outside their house, why he was homeschooled, and why he only have Jinhwan as his only friend, which is also Bobby’s cousin by paper– yes, Jinhwan is Mr. Wang’s nephew. Bobby understood Mr. Wang’s protectiveness over him though. Bobby was the only one left that he could consider as his own since he lost his first son because of someone he just met.

Growing up, Bobby was always reminded not to mingle with strangers, but for Bobby, strangers are also friends you just haven’t met yet.

–

Bobby finally finishes his business in the bathroom so he steps out of his van to enter the noodle place again. This has been his routine since he got here. It's like Hanbin had become his roommate, and Bobby would admit that he got comfortable with it now.

He didn't expect for things to end up like this, but when Hanbin opened up to him three weeks ago, Bobby had decided not to leave for a while.

“ _They said it’s better to open up to a stranger because there would be no judgement, right?”_ Bobby remembers how Hanbin answered his question.

He sent Hanbin a reassuring smile, “ _I’m good at keeping secrets, Hanbin. Shoot.”_

It was silent between them for a while. Hanbin was only staring at his food, so Bobby also didn't budge as he just waited for Hanbin to speak.

_“I am a bad son._ ”

Bobby remained silent.

“ _I made a big mistake_.”

“ _I failed my parents_.”

“ _Hanbin.. Maybe start at the very beginning?_ ” Bobby laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “ _And, dude, stop dropping negative phrases because they're only making me judge you even if I don’t mean to, so start at the beginning.”_

Hanbin let out a soft chuckle, “ _Alright, alright.”_

“ _Well… this place.. My parents already had this before I was born, so obviously I grew up here. It’s where our whole life revolved really. I go to school, and when I come home I would either help my mom in the kitchen, or my dad in the cashier. Sometimes I also help our part timers in taking orders and all… But two years ago, my parents– they died in a car accident._ ”

“ _I am so sorry.”_ Bobby felt his heart drop. He wasn't expecting that the bright smile that made him feel welcomed the day before was actually hiding pain.

“ _I’m okay now, all people die_.” Hanbin forced a smile.

“ _Now don't start bullshitting me with that fake smile, Hanbin.. And, oh God, how can you say that?_ ” Bobby pointed, and Hanbin laughed again, which Bobby found amusing because, how can this dude laugh when he's reminiscing about his deceased parents at that moment?

“ _What’s not okay, is that I just lost what they have started because of my damn recklessness.”_

That afternoon, Bobby found out that at the age of 19, Hanbin had faced an unavoidable circumstance where he had to drop out of school to run the business himself. Even at such a young age, Hanbin didn’t agree to let his greedy relatives run the place because he didn’t want others to just harvest easily what his parents’ have rigorously planted. It was such a hard turning point for Hanbin. His life became foggy, that all the negative emotions got poured all over him to the point that he became numb, like he was moving in auto-pilot since he had the responsibility to continue their family business _alone_.

But of course, he had imperfections.

Hanbin had decided to put the whole property under mortgage, to be able to pay for his parents’ funeral and burial bills, thinking that the business’ earnings will be able to pay off the loan eventually, but Hanbin’s hard work wasn’t enough to void the conveyance of the title.

“ _I knew it was risky for the property but I still did it. Look at me now, I_ am _a bad son.”_

“ _You’re- you're not bad.. It's very obvious that you did it for them. The fact that you didn't let your relatives take over is already a proof that you protected your parents' hard work from the greed.”_

“ _Yes, but_ I _still failed and made things worse_.”

“ _Oh right, you did. Yea, I'm sorry_.” Bobby looked down on his food, not wanting to look at Hanbin’s sad eyes. “ _But you didn't mean to? Right? You loaned with a good intention anyway, it just sucked that you failed._ ”

“ _It just sucked that_ I _failed, ah, thank you very much.”_

Bobby looked up when he heard Hanbin sob. He then felt bad for saying _that_.

Suddenly Hanbin's upper body just collapsed, his head falling on the table with a loud thud that his food almost spilled. Bobby stood up abruptly, wanting to run beside Hanbin, but Bobby only froze. He wasn't sure what to do, should he pull Hanbin up? Or maybe he should just let the boy cry?

Bobby have read before, that it's good for people to cry because it is self-soothing and shedding tears have been proven to release endorphins, which ease the emotional pain that one feels.

And so, Bobby only gently patted the top of Hanbin’s head, just to let the boy know that someone's by his side. Trembling mumbles of _I'm sorry eomma, I'm sorry appa_ were heard in between his sob. 

–

The next morning, Bobby woke up early with Hanbin greeting him from the outside of his van with a cup of coffee. For that whole day, Hanbin had booked two appointment for his apartment hunting.

And it was Hanbin's first time seeing Bobby's van inside.

“ _So you don't hide dead bodies in here_ …” Hanbin trailed off, which made Bobby snort as he opened the door at the back part of the van, welcoming Hanbin for a quick tour inside the camper.

It is a 1991 Toyota Hiace camper. It's a vintage van, but when Bobby’s father bought it for him, it was completely remodeled as if it was brand new. Mr. Wang had the interior, along with the engine, replaced and improved by Japanese automotive designers and architects, and Bobby was beyond grateful for his father's generosity.

“ _How many times do I have to say that I'm a good person!”_

Bobby exclaimed, laughing, as he stood just beside the camper's door, watching Hanbin admire the interior. The first thing that welcomed him upon entering the camper is the bathroom's door. The bathroom is not that spacious, really. Only one person can fit and move comfortably inside. (I mean, of course…. It's not like bathrooms are usually occupied by more than one person.) And when he turned to his left, he saw Bobby's mini bar, it’s just a three feet counter. On top of it is a portable butane gas stove, that is rarely used by the way, because Bobby usually eats outside food, underneath the counter is a small fridge, beside that fridge is storage space, where plastic utensils are placed.

Across that counter, there's a wave printed bean bag, a rack for shoes, and a tall cabinet that reached the roof of the van, that is probably only just a few inches above Bobby's height. Hanbin’s height was a bit smaller than Bobby so both of them can stand comfortably inside.

“ _Bad people are the ones who often claim themselves as good. Good people, however, they don't say it out loud, instead they act it out– Wow, this van have two beds?!”_

Hanbin found the foldable beds that was located just above the driver's and passenger's seat. It's connected to a reclining ladder, where Hanbin had his foot stepped on the first step, just enough for him to see the beds.

“ _Isn’t this an act of kindness? I'm literally offering you a free ride!_ ”

Hanbin only chuckled at Bobby as he stepped off the ladder, then he walked back to where Bobby was standing.

“ _You have a nice van.”_

“ _Uhuh_.” A smug smile on Bobby's face.

Hanbin roamed his eyes around the van again to admire the minimalist color scheme, consisting of dark grey mixed with brown leather color, some hints of olive green, faint blue, and white as the color of the floor. The well-balanced colors fascinated Hanbin, that it gave him a serene feeling.

“ _Shall we go?”_ Bobby asked. Hanbin nodded.

“ _Your smile looks like you just found yourself a place_.” Bobby teased as he opened the door again, Hanbin rolled his eyes as he stepped outside. Then they proceeded to drive around town.

Unfortunately, they weren't able to get any luck.

Places were either way out of Hanbin's price range or too uncomfortable for Hanbin to stay in. Days passed of them just driving back to the noodle place with Hanbin pulling a long face, Bobby staying, cheering Hanbin up– which didn't really needed a great effort because Hanbin is such a positive person.

It was the tenth day of Hanbin's _(still)_ unsuccessful apartment hunting when Bobby teased Hanbin once.

“ _I’m telling you, Bin. Just accept me as your landlord, or should I call it,_ vanlord _, I dunno- I mean, I have a spare bed. You'll just pay for gas! It's a nice deal!”_

Hanbin rolled his eyes that time, saying that the place he wanted needs to have potential customers around because Hanbin will continue the food business he have since he only lost the place anyway and not his amazing cooking skills that he got from his ever so lovely chef mom.

The following days, Hanbin was still unlucky, and Bobby kept persuading him in a teasing manner that his spare bed in his camper is always free to welcome Hanbin.

Bobby meant it— whenever he tells Hanbin to just move in with him. Because as he said before, it would be indeed more fun to have someone he can have fun with. And he can see that that _someone_ can potentially be Hanbin.

But Bobby respects Hanbin's decision, of course, so he didn't push that idea anymore.

–

Bobby’s thoughts were cut off once he steps inside the noodle place. The first thing he notices that weren't there before are some boxes.

And that’s when Bobby realizes what day it is today.

The property will be conveyed to the creditor today.

Bobby knew that Hanbin was only given 20 days to find a new location, yet til yesterday, they still didn't manage to find a place for Hanbin.

Bobby gazes to Hanbin, forming some words in his mind that can uplift Hanbin's spirit since Bobby knew that it's another sad day for Hanbin again.

“Packed them last night.” Hanbin says and Bobby only nods, looking around the now empty place.

The moment suddenly reminds Bobby of the time when he emptied his room in his father’s house.

Although, Bobby knows well that the feeling he had back then is the opposite of what's running inside Hanbin's mind right now.

For Bobby, he was itching to leave. He lived in that house feeling like he was trapped. When he was a kid, he felt that he was being restrained from doing the normal things kids in his age would do. Though as he grew up, he eventually understood his father's intentions, so Bobby still loved and adored him dearly.

That didn't remove his desire to be free and explore what's outside though, that is why when his father brought him news that he enrolled Bobby for driving lessons, Bobby immediately knew that he's closer to his freedom. He was damn excited to leave.

For Hanbin, who lived his life in this place that according to him is full of love and happiness, despite the hardships they had to go through, yet still remained strong together because they're a family, so leaving this place must be really hard for him.

Yep, completely opposite to what Bobby felt when he left his house.

From the dramas that Bobby had seen before, in which one character was being forced to leave the place they considered as home, they usually cry, reminiscing all the imprinted memories in their heart that won't happen again. So Bobby was expecting Hanbin to react that way.

But today, Hanbin is smiling.

“Let’s sit outside.” Hanbin says as he hands Bobby the mug of coffee that they regularly have every morning ever since Bobby started to park there.

“So you will really leave this place, huh.” Bobby says, following Hanbin, then they both sit on the wooden bench stool. Their shoulders slightly touching since the bench wasn't that big.

“Yes..” Hanbin’s gaze trails to the ground. “But Bobby..? I think I've finally chosen a place. Although it didn't reach my standards but, at least it's almost close to reaching it.” He smiles a bit cheekily as he shrugs.

Bobby looks up from his mug, “Really?”

Hanbin nods, “Yes, I mean. Today is my last day here so I had to choose now, right?”

“That’s great, Bin!” Bobby exlaims, congratulating Hanbin for the news, and Hanbin only smiles back.

Bobby then feels happy for him. That means Hanbin won't be sleeping on streets then. At least Bobby could leave in peace knowing that Hanbin will have a comfortable place to stay, that is, close to his standards.

But Bobby had other thoughts beside that.

“So that means…” He trails off, making Hanbin meet his eyes.

Bobby realizes that he will no longer see Hanbin regularly. That he will travel _alone_ again, like how he used to before he met Hanbin.

Bobby admits that he will undergo to another adjusting phase again once he starts to travel alone. It's because he undeniably got used to seeing Hanbin every morning as he exits his van, he got used to having meals with Hanbin, he got used to seeing Hanbin seated on the passenger seat, he got used to Hanbin’s presence too quickly. Bobby admits that he got attached to the bond they made so far, so traveling alone again… he's sure that he would feel _lonely_. He will miss Hanbin.

Speaking of leaving today, that meant he could go and see Jinhwan's gig though! That's another good news!

Bobby then made a mental note to call Jinhwan later.

“Means what?” Hanbin asks, making Bobby snap out of his thoughts.

_Ah I was supposed to say “So that means I will miss you.”_ Bobby thinks, but doesn't say out loud.

“Nevermind, nevermind. Where is the location? I will drop you off there before I head to Seoul.”

And then Hanbin chuckles.

“The location? Ah, it's just near. Very near. I can actually go there by foot.” Hanbin sips from his coffee.

Bobby suddenly wants to pout. There's a part of him that thinks driving all the way there means more time with Hanbin.. Like, there’s something inside of Bobby that wants to see Hanbin on his passenger seat, at least for the last time.

“Oh. I'll just help you carry the boxes then?” Bobby asks.

Hanbin laughed again, nodding.

Seriously, this boy have laughed a lot than usual this morning.

“Bobby.” Hanbin starts.

“Do you really meant what you said before?”

“What I said?” Bobby tilts his head.

“Oh you _know_.. about your spare bed?”

Bobby almost spits the coffee. Holy shit, where is this conversation going? _Is it what I think it is?_

“Yea, it’s always open for tenants.” Bobby jokes. Hanbin then leans, letting his head rest against the wall behind them.

“Then… I'll accept you as my _vanlord_. You said I just have to pay for the gas, right? Okay deal. But that won't be enough payment, so let me provide the food as well?”

Hanbin says, emphasizing the word _vanlord_ that Bobby made up ten days ago.

What Hanbin said made Bobby stand up from his seat abruptly, and it shocked Hanbin.

“What?!” Is all that Bobby could say in shock, which confuses Hanbin.

“Oh.. so you were just joking…?”

Bobby shakes his head quickly. “No no no.. Hanbin.. I was being serious. I was just taken aback because I wasn’t expecting for you to actually agree. Hanbin, I'd be glad to let you live with me! We will have tons of fun! Ah, I can already imagine the itineraries we could go to and- and-“

Hanbin smiles fondly at the boy who was practically jumping in front of him that he almost spills his coffee that is still half full.

“It’s a deal, then?” Bobby pauses.

“Deal.” Hanbin answers.

“So... we'll just have to wait for ajumeoni so I could hand her the keys, mourn over the place a lil bit, then we could go..”

“Bin, what do you mean _a lil bit_? I know deep inside you want to cry a river.” Bobby rolls his eyes as he sits back beside Hanbin, then he earned a playful slap for his remark.

“It’s okay, Hanbin. I already saw you cry once.”

“Shut up.”

—

It was almost 1pm when the same lady from three weeks ago arrived so Hanbin went to have a talk with her regarding with the transferral of the place.

Bobby just finished calling his best friend about the news. First, he told Jinhwan that he would be able to go and watch Jinhwan perform. Then, he asked if he was allowed to bring a friend.. And Jinhwan automatically understood what Bobby meant so he exclaimed, “ _You’re bringing THE Hanbin_?!”

Bobby laughed at that.

Jinhwan was beyond excited to see Bobby, and of course Hanbin too, but he said he's mostly excited to tell Hanbin about how Bobby enthusiastically told him about his _new_ friend.

After their phone call, Bobby busied himself by offering help to carry the boxes, it's a good thing that his camper has an extra storage for Hanbin's things which weren't really a lot so it wasn't a burden.

When he came back inside the place, he saw Hanbin standing in the middle, perhaps just reminiscing and making the most of the time left.

“Bin.”

“Hm?”

“You okay?”

“I am, kinda.”

Bobby exhales, lifting his right arm to gently pat the small of Hanbin's back.

Bobby then realizes something as he noticed the bare walls. The paintings that Hanbin said his father bought are gone.

“Hanbin, where are the paintings? Did you throw them?” He asks, slightly worried, since Bobby saw before how important those are to Hanbin, just from hearing Hanbin's stories about his father.

“I placed them on one of the boxes, the biggest one?” Hanbin turns to face Bobby. There’s only a small distance between them so Bobby notices how puffy Hanbin’s eyes were. It wasn’t obvious earlier because Hanbin was smiling a lot, and now that they’re facing each other, Bobby realized that Hanbin must’ve cried in his sleep last night.

Poor Hanbin.

His urge to cheer Hanbin up became strong that Bobby suddenly thought of fun ideas they can do on the road, like maybe do a carpool karaoke or something. For a moment, he wonders what songs does Hanbin listen to.

“Ah, alright. I thought the biggest box is filled with your clothes.” Bobby laughs.

“I'm actually going to sell them.”

“Your clothes?”

Hanbin snorts, “No, the paintings. _Silly_.”

Bobby bursts laughing, and when he calmed down, he told Hanbin that he knows where to find buyers.

“Oh righttt, I almost forgot that you sell paintings for a living.” Hanbin mused.

“Oh wait! You are going to sell them? I thought they're your father's treasures?”

“Well, I will not _exactly_ sell _all_ of them. I actually want to keep one, which is Dad's favorite painting ever, but I'm worried that you don't want a big ass frame in your camper.”

Bobby exhales, “Pfft, it's okay. Really. Paintings are literally my thing so I don't mind.” He assures Hanbin.

“Really?! I will go and get it now then.” Hanbin says, as he starts to march to the kitchen that is now empty.

Come to think of it, Bobby had never entered the kitchen ever since. “Ah, it’s not in the box yet?” Bobby asks, as he follows Hanbin to the kitchen.

“I don’t want to put it in a place where I can’t see it. I don’t know Bob, but there’s something special in this painting that somehow soothes me whenever I lay my eyes on it. I can understand why this is my dad’s favorite.” Hanbin says ever so fondly about the painting, that Bobby became curious. _How pretty could that painting be? Would it kick down my self-esteem as an artist? Would it call my paintings trash?_ He had seen every painting that were displayed in the dining area but he still hasn't seen this one yet.

And when Hanbin turned the painting around to show it to him, Bobby freezes on his spot.

He remembers the painting.

It was his work, the first piece he sold, actually. It’s a painting of the same ocean from the picture of him with his real father, but the difference is that the painting only shows the blue ocean, it’s calming waves, and the nice colors of the sky. Bobby did that ocean painting when he was just 11 years old, he started selling his paintings when he turned 13.

“See? It’s so beautiful that even an artist got his mouth hung open upon seeing it. _Ah_ , I know my dad has a good taste.” Hanbin says, making Bobby close his mouth.

Bobby was speechless. He wasn't expecting in his life, that he will see that painting again. And it even turned out to be on Hanbin's hands now. What a small world! Bobby suddenly thinks that there's a purpose why he met Hanbin. Like he's a God given friend, like they were really meant to meet.

He’s not sure if he should let Hanbin know that he’s the artist behind that painting or he’ll just tell him later.

Bobby then decides to just let it wait, so he only nods at how beautiful it is.

Maybe he’ll tell Hanbin when he’s ready to open up about the message behind that painting. That he painted that piece with the feeling of missing his own parents, feeling of anger of why he was left behind, with thoughts of why life was unfair and why are there children being left by their own parents.

He’ll tell Hanbin when he’s ready.

Besides, they now have all the time in the world to get to know each other more.

**Author's Note:**

> On this special day for Executive Director Kim Hanbin, I offer you, an 11k db fic. 
> 
> God, I want to hug Hanbin. And Jiwon too. 🥺
> 
> edit: 
> 
> I almost forgot to say it, but thank you for reading the second part of JDSL series!! If you liked it and wanted more of this db in JDSL universe, don't worry!! I will write more about this Bobby and Hanbin on the road in the future(I have plans I swear), but I'll tell you in advance that the next part will take a while because my classes will start in a week 😢 and I'm mf scared, because I don't know what to expect on college and I still don't have friends on my class and my laptop is shitty and ik that won't help me sooo.. anw, enough with that haha. 
> 
> comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated! you can dm me on twitter too :D @bobbyscats


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